Hermann Strebel (1868-1943)

NOWOTWORY Journal of Oncology • 2007 • volume 57
Number 5 • 252e–258e
Historia medicinae
Hermann Strebel (1868-1943)
a biography
Richard F. Mould1, Frederick S. Litten2, Jesse N. Aronowitz3
Hermann Strebel (1868-1943) made vital early contributions to the modality of brachytherapy by proposing afterloading
and crossfiring [1, 2], two basic principles of modern remote-controlled brachytherapy. He was also one of the earliest to
propose the use of radium for therapy of skin afflictions. At various times in his career he was a dermatologist, venerealogist,
electrotherapist, ultraviolet light therapist, radium therapist, X-ray therapist and plastic surgeon. In addition to practicing
medicine he was an accomplished amateur astronomer, having built a formidable private observatory at Herrsching.
Key words: Hermann Strebel, radium, afterloading, bacteria, astronomy, brachytherapy, ultraviolet light therapy,
electrotherapy, astronomy
Introduction
This biography of Hermann Strebel (Figure 1) commemorates a physician and surgeon who made significant
early contributions to brachytherapy but who has never
been the subject of a biography and is today largely
forgotten.
As well as proposing and applying the principles of
afterloading and of crossfire in 1903 [1, 2], he was one of
the earliest to investigate the effects of radium irradiation
upon bacteria. He also, at various times, practiced as a
dermatologist, venerealogist, electrotherapist, ultraviolet
light therapist, radium therapist, X-ray therapist and
plastic surgeon. In the 1920s and 1930s he also became a
notable astronomer having built his own observatory in
Herrsching, a village near Munich, Figure 2, [3].
He published many medical papers (particularly on
light therapy) between 1899 and 1908, but did not publish
again until 1927, when his first astronomical paper
appeared [4]. This may have been due in part to the
first World War and the subsequent devaluation of the
Figure 1. Hermann Strebel in January 1933 [7]
1
2
3
41 Ewhurst Avenue
South Croydon
Surrey CR2 0DH,
United Kingdom
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek
Abteilung BA/ES
Munich
Germany
Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Worcester MA 01605
USA
Figure 2. Strebel’s private observatory in Herrsching am Amersee: from
his paper in the Astronomische Nachrichten 1928 [3, 68]. The address is
Wartaweil 13 and the plot of land is now owned by Munich’s LudwigMaximilians-Universität. The observatory was demolished and in the
1970s in its place, a hydrological station was built on the site
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Figure 3. Both sides of the Bene Merenti medal which was awarded to Strebel in 1932. The front shows
a young man (the genius of the sciences) and the inscription ‘Given as a gift by the Bavarian Academy of
Letters and Sciences’ (which is an unusual name as it was usually known simply as the Bavarian Academy of
Sciences). It was made by Theodor von Gosen in 1909/11. The reverse shows an owl on a helmet (Athena)
and laurel, together with the artist’s initials TG. The Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung report [7] stated ‘Professor
Dr Hermann Strebel, the well known Munich surgeon, who presented his private observatory in Herrsching
am Ammersee to the university observatory in Munich-Bogenhausen as a gift, received the highest
decoration of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences, the Gold Medal bene merenti with ribbon’
deutschmark during which time the cost of publication
was prohibitive. His last published paper on astronomy
was in 1937 [5] but, despite practicing until his death in
1943, his last medical paper was in 1908 [6].
His reputation in Germany now rests not on
medicine, but on his accomplishments as an amateur
astronomer, building his own observatory at Herrsching.
He was awarded the Bene Merenti medal of the Bavarian
Academy of Sciences in 1932 for donating his observatory
to the Academy Figure 3 [7].
We have attempted to identify all of Strebel’s
publications, but many of the journals of that era are now
obscure, so the listing may be incomplete.
Medical training 1889-1893
Hermann Strebel was born in Munich in 1868 and after
completing his military service in 1889, began studying
medicine at Erlangen University. He received his doctorate in medicine from Erlangen in 1892, his dissertation
on Oedema cutis circumscriptum [8]. Strebel had suffered
from this condition, but his only original contribution
to medical knowledge on the subject was the observation that rolling in the mud did not relieve it [8]. The
following year, 1893, he received his licence to practice
(Approbation). He then relocated to Regensburg, where
his father was a district surveyor. He may have made further studies to become a qualified surgeon (Facharzt für
Chirurgie): a title he mentions in later years.
Medical practice 1896-1943
Strebel began the practice of medicine in Regensburg in
1893, then moved to Munich in 1896. It does not appear
that he had any appointments at Munich University, or
at any state or city-owned institutions.
Entries in the Munich City Directory for his private
practice were originally No.11 Theresienstrasse, changing
in 1905 to No.20 Wagmuellerstrasse. In 1906, he opened
a new private practice at No.3 am Kosttor and in 1907
was listed as a ‘praktischer Arzt’ (general practitioner)
specialising in skin and venereal disease. In 1908 his
practice was called a Lichtheil- und elektromedizinisches
Institut (Light Therapy and Electromedical Institute).
His Institute relocated to No.47 Theatinerstrasse in 1912
and to No.12 Residenzstrasse in 1916, where it remained
until his death in 1943. In the 1935 Munich Directory
he was described as a physician specialising in cosmetic
and plastic surgery (Arzt für kosmetisch-plastische
Operationen).
Strebel only published one small book/pamphlet
of 60 pages, in 1903, entitled Elektron Heilanstalt zur
Behandlung mittelst Hochfrequenzströmen, Licht- und
Röntgenstrahlen (Elektron Therapy Centre for Treatment
with High Frequency Currents, Light and X-rays at
25 Lindwurstrasse, Munich). It was republished in a
different format with some of the contents changed, in 49
pages, in 1910, Table I, [9]. Strebel was described as the
Table I. Articles in the 1903 pamphlet [9] advertising the services of the Elektron Centre
pp. 31-38. Einiges über die inneren Ursachen von Hautkrankheiten {Some information on the internal causes of skin diseases}
pp. 39-46. Haar- und Haarboden-Krankheiten {Hair and scalp diseases}
pp. 47-50. Asthma, Husten, Verschleimung {Asthma, cough and mucous congestion: a description of an inhalation system}
pp. 51-58. Das moderne Rüstzeug des Arztes gegen die Tuberkolose {The modern tools of the physician for treatment of tuberculosis}
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Medical Director {Ärztlicher Direktor} of the Elektron
Centre.
In the 1903 pamphlet [9] page 2 consisted of a list
of Bavarian royalty who had visited Elektron. This was
followed in pages 3-30 by a general overview of ‘light
therapy, X-ray therapy and high frequency current
therapy’. The final two pages contained a description of
the city of Munich. Two different articles that appeared in
1910 [9] were on High frequency currents and their results
in therapy and X-rays and their importance for medicine.
The use of the word Elektron in 1903 is interesting,
as J.J. Thomson discovered the electron in 1897 [10] from
his experimental work with cathode rays. However, the
naming of this Centre had nothing to do with Thomson’s
electron since Strebel wrote [9] ‘It is called thus, (i.e.,
Elektron) because the main healing factor is electricity’.
Strebel’s selected name inadvertently mirrors the title
of one of his 1904 publications [11] Cathode rays as
therapeutic competitors to X-rays and radium rays. The
terms alpha and beta for two types of Becquerel rays
were proposed by Ernest Rutherford in 1899 [12].
Naming of the third type, gamma, is attributed to Paul
Villard in 1900 [13].
1898-1902
Introduction
Strebel published his first paper in 1898 [14], followed by
two in 1899. These 1899 publications described his initial
work on ultraviolet light therapy including the treatment
of tuberculosis [15, 16]. He was, then, described as a
Praktischer Arzt (general practitioner) in Munich.
In 1900 he published five papers [17-21] of which
the first [17] was on meat stock and salt osmosis. He
published 10 papers [19, 22-30] in 1901 and, in 1902 three
papers [31-33]. His presentations [34] given at the 74th
Congress of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher
und Ärzte in Karlsbad in September 1902 were reported
the following year.
In 1900 Strebel was a Leitender Arzt (physician in
charge) of a large Light Therapy Institute (Lichtanstalt),
from which he departed prior to publication of his paper
in the Wiener klinische Rundschau of December 1900
[21].
Radium & bacteria
The earliest experiments irradiating bacteria with
radioisotopes were performed by Pacinotti in Italy in
1899; who used uranium powder. He claimed to eradicate
bacilli of cholera, tuberculosis, diphtheria and typhoid
with exposures of up to 24 hours [35]. However, Leopold
Freund [36] repeated the Pacinotti experiments in 1903
without duplicating the results.
Strebel began his experimental report in the early
part of 1901 [22] with the words ‘In the following, I will
show proof of the bactericidal effect of Becquerel rays’.
He used growths of bacteria prodigiosus upon agar-
agar exposed to rays from 20 mg radium under various
conditions of screening with non-irradiated control
specimens. The only criticism made of his work was by
Aschkinass & Caspari who claimed that his results cannot
be accepted because he reported only a single successful
outcome [37]. Later, in 1901, these authors successfully
repeated Strebel’s experiments using the same organism,
demonstrating that the greatest effects were caused by
the alpha rays [37].
Strebel also refers [22] to the fact that he had
previously published a preliminary notice (vorläufige
Mitteilung), without giving this reference* but mentions
a reviewer (Referent) of the Chemiker-Zeitung who
claimed that Strebel was at fault in that he ‘did not seem
to know about the uselessness of Röntgen rays against
bacteria’. Strebel countered this criticism by stating
that he was talking about Becquerel rays from uranium
and radium, not Röntgen rays. He then described
his experiments using radium, pitchblende from St.
Joachimstal, uranium nitrate and uranium oxide.
Radium therapy
In a paper written in the early part of 1901, Strebel
indicated his intent to use radium therapeutically [22]
and he reported favourable early results in the treatment
of lupus with radium enclosed in parchment capsules in
June 1901 [29].
Light therapy
Phototherapy was the subject of much of Strebel’s
research. His ultraviolet light experiments on skin began
in January 12901 [22]. He published papers on the
induction spark light for therapy [22, 23], the effect of
light on bacteria and his clinical results on gonorrhoea
[15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24-26, 30-33]. The treatment of
gonorrhoea by other means was the subject of another
paper [19].
Strebel patented a design for an induction spark
light for therapy using cooling electrodes [27-29] and
demonstrated an apparatus for ultraviolet light therapy
at the Congress of the German Dermatological Society,
at Breslau in 1901 [38], and addressed the 73rd Congress
of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte
(Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians)
on 26 September 1901 regarding his ultraviolet light
experiments** [23].
* This could have been reference [20] which shows that he was
already experimenting with radium in November 1900 at the
latest but alternatively could have referred to [24], published in
January 1901.
** In the discussion to this paper [23] he indicates that he has
worked with Becquerel rays and claims that he already published
a notice on it “several months ago”, presumably referring to
reference [22] published early in 1901.
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X-ray therapy
Only one of Strebel’s papers during the period 18981902 referred in its title to X-ray therapy, regarding the
treatment of rhinophyma [33]. However, in addition, he
gave a presentation entitled A Contribution to the Theory
& Practice of X-ray Therapy at the 74th Congress of the
Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte in
Karlsbad in September 1902 [34]. The discussion that
followed his presentation included comments by Leopold
Freund on the use of hard X-ray tubes versus soft X-ray
tubes for therapy.
1903
Radium therapy
Strebel published his most important radium therapy
paper Vorschläge zur Radiumtherapie, (Proposals for
radium therapy) in 1903, in which he enunciated his
techniques of afterloading and crossfire [1, 2]. It was in
this publication that he advanced his claim for priority for
the idea of using radium for therapy, stating, ‘I think, that
I was the first person, who had the idea to use radium
for therapeutic purposes’. He supported this claim by
referring to a presentation he gave at the 7th Congress
of the German Dermatological Society in Breslau on 2830 May 1901. This would be about the same time that
he wrote his postscript to reference [29] mentioning his
work with radium on lupus.
Leopold Freund supported this claim in the 1904
English translation of his 1903 radiation therapy textbook
[36], stating ‘H. Strebel made therapeutic experiments
with radium substances in lupus. According to his reports
(at the 1901 Breslau Congress) reaction took place in
so far that the nodules became distinctly paler and the
tissues softer. On another occasion (at a 1901 Congress
in Hamburg) he reports having produced an ulcer in a
lupus patient’.
Light therapy
In 1903 he published three papers on light therapy [3941] including one with the ophthalmologist Friedrich von
Ammon on light therapy in opthalmology [40].
1904-1908
Radium therapy
Strebel’s last two papers on radium therapy were
published in 1907 and 1908 [6, 42]. One was a review of
the current state of radium research [6]. His final paper
on radium was based on a presentation he made at the
2nd International Congress for Physicotherapy in Rome
in 1907 [42]. He stated that he had treated two patients
for a sarcoma, when all other remedies had failed, but
without success. With carcinoma, Strebel’s opinion was
that only relatively benign carcinoma on the skin surface
should be treated. He stressed that all conditions that can
be treated surgically should be treated so, with radium
reserved as a last resort for inoperable cases Strebel
considered that radium was the last possibility and that
it was one which would mostly fail. It would therefore
appear that by 1907 Strebel had become disenchanted
with radium therapy for malignant disease, and did not
write of radium or clinically work with radium again.
Electrotherapy, cathode rays & light therapy
Strebel’s only major paper on electrotherapy (1904)
dealt with the treatment of lupus [43]. His only paper on
cathode rays (also published in 1904) considered them as
therapeutic competitors to X-rays and radium rays [11].
Strebel final three papers on light therapy were in 1904
[44-46].
1909-1926
Hermann Strebel does not seem to have published during
this 18 year period, apart from republishing his Elektron
booklet [9] in 1910. One of the reasons might have been
due to the first World War and the hyperinflation of the
deutschmark that followed (peaking in 1923). During this
time paper was in very short supply and the printing of
books and journals was severely reduced. Another reason
might have been due to his personal life, as he divorced
in 1909.
1927-1937
Strebel’s final papers were published between 1927 and
1937. Although he continued to practice medicine and
surgery until his death in 1943, he ceased writing on
medical subjects, limiting his literary output to at least
23 papers on astronomy [3-5, 47-66].
Although he purchased the land in 1910 for his
observatory in Herrsching (a village near Munich),
he did not start building his private observatory until
1926 [3]. Unusually for the 1920s and 1930s, Strebel
used mirror telescopes, built by the famous Bernhard
Schmidt (1879-1935) for solar observations. Schmidt was
an Estonian born optician and instrument maker who
lived in Germany from 1901 and who invented (in 1930)
the Schmidt telescope which corrected for spherical
aberrations by placing a corrector lens in front of the
mirror. In 1932 he bequeathed his observatory to the
Munich-Bogenhausen observatory, which was then still
part of the administration of scientific collections of the
State of Bavaria, and in 1937 he ceased his astronomical
observations.
His most important astronomical observation
resulted in the recognition of the polygonal structure
of solar granules; these observations were of an equal
quality with the stratospheric observations made in
the 1960s. However, unlike his observations, Strebel’s
theoretical studies of solar physics were useless.
Strebel’s publications in the field of astonomy have
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Figure 4. The front of the Strebel medal shows an image of Hermann Strebel. The reverse of the medal
has a background made up of the word Brachytherapie overlaid with a schematic of three electronic orbits
and the initials of the three organisations DEGRO, IGRO and SASRO
been well documented by Litten [67, 68] who presumes
that because of his interest in light therapy Strebel also
became interested in solar research.
1999
After such a long time in the shadows, it was unexpected
that in 1999 a Strebel Medal was founded, Figure 4.
It is awarded biannually during the Brachytherapy
Symposium of the DEGRO (Deutsche Gesellschaft
für Radioonkologie), OGRO (Österreich Gesellschaft
für Radioonkologie) and SASRO (Swiss Association of
Swiss Radiation Oncology). The choice of Strebel was
specifically made because of his proposal in 1903 [1, 2]
for radium afterloading.
Acknowledgements
The research for this article has been like the continuing
unravelling of a detective story, and without assistance from
many sources it would have been impossible. We are most
grateful to Professor György Kovàcs for helpful comments
and for providing the photograph of the Strebel Medal in
Figure 4. We are indebted to the late Professor Karsten Rotte
and to Dr Kurt Baier and Dr Gregor Bruggmoser for helpful
discussions. The Bavarian State Library and the libraries of
The Royal Society of Medicine, London, and the Countway
Library of Harvard University have been extremely useful
sources for the early German medical journals.
Richard F. Mould MSc PhD
41 Ewhurst Avenue
South Croydon
Surrey CR2 0DH,
United Kingdom
E-mail: [email protected]
References
1. Strebel H. Vorschläge zur Radiumtherapie. (Proposals for radiumtherapy)
Deutsche Medicinal-Zeitung 24 December 1903; 24 : 1145-6.
2. Mould RF, Litten FS, Bruggmoser G, Aronowitz J. Proposals for radium
therapy in 1903. Nowotwory J Oncol 2007; 57: 136-8e.
3. Strebel H. Die Privatsternwarte zu Herrsching bei München (The private
observatory at Herrsching near Munich). Astronomische Nachrichten
1928; 232: 133-6.
4. Strebel H. Das Rätsel der hellen Strahlen auf dem Monde (The mystery
of the bright rays of the moon). Das Weltall 1927/1928; 27: 60-4.
5. Strebel H. Diskussion der verschiedenen Methoden zur Bestimmung
der Temperatur von Sonnenflecken. (Discussion of various methods to
ascertain the temperature of sun spots) Astronomische Nachrichten 1937;
263: 233-50.
6. Strebel H. Der gegenwärtige Stand der Radiumforschung. (The current
state of radium research) Zeitschrift für neuere phys Med 15 March 1908;
2 (6): 180-3, and 1 April 1908; 2 (7): 214-24.
7. Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 8 January 1933.
8. Strebel H. Ueber oedema cutis circumscriptum. Dissertation. University of
Erlangen, 1892.
9. Strebel H. Elektron Heilanstalt zur Behandlung mittelst
Hochfrequenzströmen, Licht- und Röntgenstrahlen. (Elektron Therapy
Centre for treatment with high frequency currents, light and X-rays) Munich:
H Strebel, 1903, see also Strebel H. Elektron Heilanstalt zur Behandlung
mittelst Hochfrequenzströmen, Licht- und Röntgenstrahlen. (Elektron
Therapy Centre for treatment with high frequency currents, light and X-rays)
Augsburg: H Strebel, 1910.
10. Thomson JJ. Cathode rays. Discourse to The Royal Institution, London.
30 April 1897.
11. Strebel H. Kathodenstrahlung als therapeutische Konkurrenz der
Röntgen- und Radium-strahlen. (Cathode rays as therapeutic competitors
to X-rays and radium-rays) Deutsche Medizische Wochenschrift 1904; 30
(15); 557.
12. Rutherford E. Uranium radiation and the electrical conduction produced
by it. Phil Mag Series 5 1899; 47: 109-63.
13. Villard P. Sur la réflexion et la réfraction de rayons cathodiques et des
rayons déviables du radium. Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences
1900; 130: 1010-1.
14. Strebel H. Einiges über Pathogenese. (Some remarks on pathogenesis)
Ärztliche Rundschau 16 April 1898; 8 (16): 242-7 and 23 April 1898; 8
(17): 257-62.
15. Strebel H. Die Bedeutung des Lichtes für Physiologie und Therapie.
(The importance of light for physiology and therapy) Ärztliche Rundschau
1 April 1899; 9 (13): 193-5.
16. Strebel H. Tuberculose und ihre Beziehungen zum Licht. (Tuberculosis
and its relationships to light) Archiv für Lichttherapie 1899; 1 (Issues 2
and 3): 70 ff.
17. Strebel H. Gewebeökonomie und Osmose. (Tissue economy and osmosis)
Deutsche Medicinal Zeitung 17 May 1900: 461-4.
18. Strebel H. Meine Erfahrungen mit der Lichttherapie. (My experiences
with light therapy) Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 5 July 1900; 26
(27); 436-9, and 28 December 1900; 26 (28): 454-6.
257e
19. Strebel H. Ein Beitrag zur Behandlung der Gonorrhoe. (A contribution
to the treatment of gonorrhoea) Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 20
August 1900; 26: 821-5, and 3 September 1900: 833-4.
20. Strebel H. Vorläufige Mittheilung über die bactericide Wirkung der
Strahlen des Induktionsfunkens. (Preliminary notice on the bactericidal
effect of the invisible rays of the induction spark) Deutsche Medizinische
Wochenschrift 22 November 1900; 26 (47): 764.
21. Strebel H. Einige lichttherapeutische Fragen. (Some light therapy
problems) Wiener klinische Rundschau 16 December 1900; 14 (50): 9936, and 23 December 1900; 14 (51): 1013-5.
22. Strebel H. Zur Frage der lichttherapeutischen Leistungsfähigkeit des
Induktionsfunkenlichtes nebst Angabe Einiger Versuche über die
bakterienfeindliche Wirkung der Becquerelstrahlen. (On the question of
the capacity of the induction spark light for light therapy, together with
details of some experiments on the anti-bacterial effects of Becquerel
rays). Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen 1900-01; 4 (3):
125-32.
23. Strebel H. Die Brauchbarkeit des Induktionsfunkenlichtes in der
Therapie. (The usefulness of the induction spark light for therapy) Proc
73rd Congress of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte.
Abstract. 1901; 2.2: 45.
24. Strebel H. Untersuchungen über die bakterizide Wirkung des
Hochspannungsfunkenlichtes nebst Angabe einer Methode zur besseren
Ausnützung der bakteriziden Kraft des Voltabogenlichtes. (Research
on the bactericidal effect of the high voltage spark light as well as a
statement of a method for improved use of the bactericidal power of the
Voltaic arc light). Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 31 January 1901;
27 (5): 68-72, and 7 February 1901; 27 (6): 87-9.
25. Strebel H. Vorläufige Mittheilung über die Verwendung des
bakterienfeindlichen Funkenlichtes in Körperhöhlen. (Preliminary
notice on the use of anti-bacterial spark light in body cavities) Deutsche
Medizinische Wochenschrif t 27 June 1901; 27 (26): 435-6.
26. Strebel H. Die Brauchbarkeit des Induktionsfunkenlichtes in der
Therapie. (The use of induction spark light for therapy) Presentation
at the 73rd Congress of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und
Ärzte in Hamburg 1901. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen
1901-02 (October 1901); 5 (1): 51-6.
27. Strebel H. Zur Frage der Kühlelektroden im Bogenlicht. (On the
question of the cooling electrodes in arc light) Deutsche Medizinische
Wochenschrift 31 October 1901; 27 (44): 775.
28. Strebel H. Letter concerning an ultraviolet lamp using water-cooled
metal electrodes. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen 19011902 (October 1901); 5 (1): 63-4.
29. Strebel H. Apparate zur Lichtbehandlung mit Ultraviolettstrahlen.
(Apparatus for light therapy with ultraviolet rays) Deutsche MedicinalZeitung 6 June 1901; 531-2.
30. Strebel H. Die Brauchbarkeit des Induktionsfunkenlichtes in dere
Therapie. (The usefulness of the induction spark light in therapy) Wiener
Medizinische Presse 1901; 42: 1929-33, and 43: 1974-7.
31. Strebel H. Mittheilung über wirksame Lichtgeneratoren in der Therapie.
(Note on effective light generators for therapy) Deutsche Medizinische
Wochenschrift 26 June 1902; 28 (26): 475-6.
32. Strebel H. Lichttherapeutische Neuigkeiten. (News from light therapy)
Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 25 September 1902; 28 (39): 711-2.
{Light therapy for alveolar pyrrhoe].
33. Strebel H. Rhinophyma, geheilt durch Röntgenstrahlen, und Ephelides,
beseitigt durch Ultraviolett-Strahlen. (Rhinophyma, healed with X-rays,
and ephelides, removed with ultra-violet rays) Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete
der Röntgenstrahlen 1902-03; 6 (5): 227-9.
34. Strebel H. Über lichttherapeutische Specialitäten und neue Lichtgeneratoren. (On light therapy specialties with new light generators) and
Ein Beitrag zur Theorie und Praxis der Röntgen-Strahlen-Therapie.
(A contribution to theory and practice of X-ray therapy) Presentations
at the 74th Congress of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und
Ärzte in Karlsbad in September 1902. 74 Versammlung, Leipzig, 1903;
2.2: 520-2 and Archiv für Dermatologie 1903; 66. See also: Ein Beitrag
zur Theorie und Praxis der Röntgen-Strahlen-Therapie. (A contribution
to theory and practice of X-ray therapy) Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der
Röntgenstrahlen 1902-1903; 6 (2): 74-8.
35. Pacinotti G. Altri caratteri differenziali far il bacillo del tifo e il bacterium
coli in colture aerobo-anaerobiche. Gazzetta degli Ospedali e dela Cliniche
26 February 1899; 20 (25): S.259-61.
36. Freund L. Grundriss der Gesamten Radiotherapie für Praktische Ärzte.
Berlin: Urban & Schwarzenberg., 1903. See also Freund L. Elements of
General Radiotherapy for Practitioners, Lancashire GFH, translator, New
York: Rebman, 1904.
37. Aschkinass E, Caspari W. Ueber den Einfluss dissociirender Strahlen auf
organisirte Substanzen, insbesondere ueber die bakterienschaedigende
Wirkung der Becquerel-Strahlen. (On the influence of disassociating rays
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
on organised substances, especially on the damage on bacteria produced
by Bequerel rays) Pflüger’s Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie 1901; 86:
603-18.
Report of the Congress of the German Dermatological Society, Breslau
1901. Fortschritte auf dem Gebiete der Röntgenstrahlen 1900-01; 4: 235-6.
Strebel H. Eine neue wirksame Lampe für lichttherapeutische Zwecke.
(A new effective light source for light therapy use) Deutsche Medizinische
Wochenschrift 22 January 1903; 29 (4): 73-5.
Strebel H, von Ammon F. Die Aussichten der Lichtbehandlung in der
Opthalmotherapie. (The prospects of light treatment in opthalmotherapy)
4 June 1903 Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 29 (23): 409-10.
Strebel H. Fortschritte in der Lichttherapie. (Advances in light therapy)
Wiener Medizinische Presse 1903; 44 (41): 1921-7.
Strebel H. Die Intratumorale Bestrahlung der Krebsgeschwulst als
Fortschritt der Radiotherapie. (The intratumoural irradiation of the
cancerous ulcer as a sign of the progress of radiotherapy) Münchener
med Wochenschrift 12 March 1907; Issue 11: 27-9.
Strebel H. Eine neue Behandlungsweise für Lupus und bösartige
Neubildungen mittelst molekulärer Zertrümmerung durch kontinuierliche, hochgespannte, hochfrequente Funkenströme. (A new kind of
treatment for lupus and malignant neoplasms by means of molecular
shattering by continuous high voltage, high frequency spark currents)
Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift 7 January 1904; 30 (2): 63.
Strebel H. Fortschritte in der Lichttherapie. (Advances in light therapy)
Dermatologische Zeitschrift 1904; 11: 30.
Strebel H. Das Induktionsfunkenlicht und das elektrische Glimmlicht als
wirksame lichttherapeutische Faktoren bei Behandlung der Gonorrhoe
und anderer entzündlicher Zustände. (The induction spark light and
the electrical glow light as effective light therapy factors in treating
gonorrhoea and other inflammatory conditions) Archiv für Dermatologie
1904; 70: 449-54.
Strebel H. Das Lichtbrandverfahren. (A method of using light to burn
materials) Deutsche Zeitschrift für Chirurgie 1904; 72(3):337-41.
Strebel H. Die Beobachtung der Sonne (The observation of the sun). Die
Himmelswelt 1928; 28: 85-95 and 135-44.
Strebel H. Gedanken über einzelne Sonnenprobleme (Thoughts on some
problems relating to the sun). Die Himmelswelt 1928; 28: 213-21 and
311-5.
Strebel H. Planetenaufnahmen (Photographs of planets). Die Sterne 1928;
8: 131-4.
Strebel H. Über Aufnahmen der Sonne durch Ultraviolettstrahlen und
Fluorescenzlicht (On photographs of the sun using ultraviolet rays
and fluorescent light). Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie der
Wissenschaften 1928: 367-74.
Strebel H. Vollmondzauber am Fernrohr (Full moon magic through the
telescope). Das Weltall 1930; 29: 171-3.
Strebel H. Über eine Methode zur Erzeugung monochromatischer Bilder
von flächenhaft ausgedehnten leuchtenden Objekten (On a method to
obtain monochromatic shots of radiant objects). Zeitschrift für Astrophysik
1931; 2: 383-8.
Strebel H. Versuch der Photometrierung eines Sonnenflecks (An attempt
at a photometric measurement of a sun spot). Zeitschrift für Astrophysik
1931; 3: 270-8.
Strebel H. Vorgänge in Reiberöhren und Beziehungen derselben zur
Chromosphärenphysik. (Processes in friction valves and their connections
to the physics of the chromosphere) Astronomische Nachrichten 1932;
245: 203-6.
Strebel H. Studien über Sonnenfleckenbrücken (Studies on sun spot
bridges) Astronomische Nachrichten 1932; 246: 189-202.
Strebel H. Sonnenphotographische Dokumente (Documents of solar
photography) Zeitschrift für Astrophysik 1932; 5: 36-40.
Strebel H. Der innere helle Rand der Penumbra von Sonnenflecken.
(The inner bright edge of the penumbra of sun spots) Zeitschrift für
Astrophysik 1932; 5: 96-100.
Strebel H, Thüring B. Untersuchungen zu einer photometrischen Statistik
der Granulation der Sonnenoberfläche. (Research on a photometric
statistic of the granulation of the sun’s surface) Zeitschrift für Astrophysik
1932; 5: 348-58.
Strebel H. Beitrag zum Problem der Sonnengranulation. (Contribution
on the problem of solar granula) Zeitschrift für Astrophysik 1933; 6:
313-29.
Strebel H. Probleme betreffend die reale Photosphäre. (Problems
concerning the real photosphere) Astronomische Nachrichten 1934; 251:
289-302.
Strebel H. Die Auswirkung der Erkenntnis der Dichotomie der
Photosphäre auf verschiedene Sonnenprobleme. (The effect of the
realisation of the dichotomy of the photosphere on several solar
problems) Astronomische Nachrichten 1934; 253: 141-54.
258e
62. Strebel H. Realer Sonnenfleck im Gegensatz zum theoretischen
Fleckmodell. (Real sun spot as contrasted with the theoretical model of
spots) Astronomische Nachrichten 1934; 253: 409-24.
63. Strebel H. Das Sonnenfleckspektrum (The sun spot spectrum).
Astronomische Nachrichten 1934; 254: 49-64.
64. Strebel H, Schneider G. Neue Strahlungsmessungen auf der
Sonnenphotosphäre. (New radiation measures on the sun’s photosphere)
Astronomische Nachrichten 1935; 254: 169-74.
65. Strebel H, Thüring B. Über Helligkeit und Durchmesser der
Granulationselements der Sonnenoberfläche. (On the brightness and
diameter of the granules of the solar surface) Astronomische Nachrichten
1935; 258: 17-26.
66. Strebel H. Das Granulationproblem der Sonne. (The problem of the
granulation of the sun) Astronomische Nachrichten 1936; 260: 241-58.
67. Litten FS. Astronomie in Bayern 1914-1945. Disseration, LudwigMaximilians-Universität, Munich. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1992. http://
litten.de/abstrtoc/astrotoc.htm
68. Litten FS. Hermann Strebel – Lichttherapeut und Sonnenforscher. (Light
therapist and sun researcher) Sterne und Weltraum 1992; 31 (3): 154-7.
Received: 24 May 2007
Accepted: 20 June 2007